Ambrosia (Nectar 2)

“Taken? Watched? Wait a minute. I’m an experiment? We, you and me… this relationship, it’s an experiment!” Kyla jumped to her feet.

Tristan nodded and reached for her hand, “Sit.”

“Our relationship is an experiment. You didn’t know about this?”

“No.”

“We can’t trust him. Can we?”

Tristan gave her a look, “Of course we can.”

But she read something else in his eyes. She was about to push it and Tristan gave her a look that froze her in her tracks. If Tristan didn’t trust Adrian, he obviously didn’t want Adrian to know and he had already warned they could be under surveillance. She took a big breath.

He squeezed her hand, shaking his head, “Let’s give him a sample and then we’ve got more to talk about. Ask him questions, if you want.”

She nodded slowly and sat back down. Her heart was beating so loud. She felt faint.

What on earth was going on here?

Tristan stepped out into the hall and then returned with Adrian.

Kyla slowly rolled up her sleeve and Adrian approached her.

Tristan stopped him, “I’ll do it.”

Adrian gave a knowing smile and passed the syringe.

“I understand. I’m the same. Very protective of my special pets.”

Kyla looked up at him, this man who was a relative. How bizarre it was to stare up at a man who looked not much older than she was but who was her grandfather.

“Your eyes. I have your eyes,” Kyla blurted as it dawned on her. Hers weren’t luminescent but if they were, they’d be exactly the same. The same cat’s eye shape, the same shade of green.

He smiled, “You do. Your mother does, as well. All females from my line do.”

My line? Not my family. My line. Wow.

Adrian sat on the corner of his desk in front of Kyla, watching Tristan seal the spot with a kiss. Tristan licked his lips and then winked at her.

“Ask anything you’d like to ask,” Adrian said to Kyla but was looking to Tristan, his eyes on Tristan as Tristan put the two vials of blood into his own pocket.

“I’ll be supervising your testing,” Tristan told him.

Adrian gave him a smile but Kyla was fairly certain the smile was fake.

“Refreshments?” Adrian asked, standing up and rounding his desk.

“Kyla could use some food. She hasn’t eaten much today.”

“I’ve arranged to have lunch sent to your room shortly.” He picked up his phone, “Fritz, some fresh orange juice and coffee to my office, please.” He hung up.

“Questions?” Adrian probed.

“Uh..”

Kyla didn’t even know where to start! She found her voice eventually.

“So, beyond what’s happening to Tristan from drinking my blood, you know about what happens with my period. Is that something that’s normal?”

Adrian nodded, “There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to nectar and royal pets. We guard the information carefully to protect those who have the most to lose and to manage those who would be nuisances if they knew. You were, in essence, created to feed and breed for vampires. Generations ago, this was common. Covens would keep small human populations of carefully selected people with vampire DNA for feeding purposes and breeding also happened, either to produce feeders or for turning. Nowadays, the breeding is a necessity, I’m afraid. But we are extremely cautious about it. Responsibility is important and most vampires are careful about reproduction. We don’t turn just anyone and we don’t breed with just anyone.

Female vamps rarely conceive so we have no choice but to look to suitable human females for selective breeding. Then suitable offspring can be turned at the appropriate time. This is what came about with Tristan. Both of Tristan’s parents were full vampires and from highly powerful family lines. This makes him vampire royalty. Your line has powerful royal vampire blood on one side, that would be me. And less powerful but still vamp, nonetheless, on the other side. This, with your blood type, makes you very suitable for feeding and also for breeding.

As far as the nectar goes, the fact that you didn’t become pregnant after bonding is, essentially, a sign of infertility, so a vampire would innately turn on a pet who he’d bonded with as a matter of that human being unable to breed.

Before you died, he’d be fortified with nectar from the menstrual blood to sustain him until he found another suitable mate.”

“Isn’t it dead, though? Isn’t that kind of strange that a vampire wouldn’t want live blood? If that’s the right term for it.”

“That blood is filled with nutrients. It’s what sustains a fertilized egg in the beginning stage of life. It’s shed when there’s no fertilized egg to benefit from it. Investigate witchcraft lore and you’ll see that menstrual blood is considered very magical. It is often used in witchcraft, used ceremonially throughout history, in offerings, also used in fertilizing plants, etcetera. We would not want a witch to get their hands on your menstrual blood. That could be catastrophic. Iron in this blood is particularly nutrient-rich for vampires and there’s significant iron in menstrual blood, enough iron to fortify a vamp who has to seek out a more suitable, fertile pet. A royal pet’s blood composition is even more special than an average feeder. You’re not likely infertile. I suspect you are, in fact, quite fertile based on the fact that you are beginning to ovulate now, despite birth control.